NATCHEZ — One out of every two students at Natchez High School is dropping out before graduation and that statistic doesn’t sit well with Superintendent Frederick Hill.

At a Tuesday town hall meeting at the Natchez Community Center packed with approximately 125 residents, parents, teachers and administrators, Hill addressed the dropout rate that has been plaguing the high school for years.

“Last year, the state identified us as having a 50-percent graduation rate, so that means one out of two students are dropping out,” Hill said. “Some just don’t want to come, some can’t because they need to work and others just need that extra boost.”

The only way to decrease the dropout rate, Hill said, is to offer a variety of programs and opportunities at the high school to appeal to all of the students who have left.

One of those programs includes an extended school day that offers students the opportunity to come to school from 4 to 7:30 p.m. every night except Friday to work toward earning high school credits.

“My preference is for every student to walk out with a high school diploma, but they can also take courses toward their GED,” Hill said. “A student would be in a much better position to come out with a GED than nothing at all.”

Other options include a traditional summer school or the creation of a Natchez virtual public school, in which students could take online classes to earn their degrees.

While the state offers a similar program through the Mississippi Virtual Public School, Hill said many local students aren’t able to enroll.

“There are only a limited amount of slots available statewide,” Hill said. “So the Natchez virtual public school is the same concept, but we’ll be in total control of it.

“I think we can do that within our district and provide more opportunities to all of our students once they enter the ninth grade.”

Hill also addressed the results of an audit conducted by Phi Delta Kappa International that revealed a variety of shortcomings in the district’s curriculum.

“I think the best way to do better is to be open, honest and transparent about where we are and where we want to go in our district,” Hill said. “We have a lot of work to do in our district, and I know we’re up to the task to make the changes in our district to make it better.”

One positive finding in the audit report related to how the district was spending the money it is provided by its funding sources — federal, local and state.

“It’s no secret that we’re getting less money and our responsibilities are going up each year,” Hill said. “We have to do more with less, and we were marked adequate for this one because we are doing this.”

Hill discussed the details of the district’s newest school, the Robert Lewis Magnet School for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

The school board voted last week to approve the magnet school. The program will have 125 sixth-grade students.

Hill said the district’s goal is to phase in a grade level each year until the school reaches eighth grade.

Magnet schools have a specific theme or mission that drives their curriculum, such as fine arts or science.

Applications for students will be available in April.

Admission to the school will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis for the first 125 students. If more than 125 students apply, a lottery will be offered to fill the available slots.